Unexpected

I was browsing through the Dunsire Forums while imbibing my morning coffee when I came across a very interesting link. Very, very interesting indeed! The folks at the National Piping Centre have put together a generous page of mp3s which feature the unlikely incorporation of bagpipes in old-time American music! I haven't heard them all yet myself, but the sampling I've had is pretty promising. Have a look and listen here.

On a bit of a different topic, the thread on the forums is pretty interesting too, especially where it branches off into in some experienced listeners' impressions of American old-time fiddle styles; they find the style closer to Shetland fiddling rather than to the mainland Scottish or even Irish that one might expect.